More than 100 years ago Intrepid Birdmen in aircraft cobbled together from anything they could find were taking to the skies in air races, this just a few years after aviation was even a thing. And just like ‘Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines’ a new breed of adrenaline junkies with the skills to build incredible contraptions are at it again. They’re called the ‘Sultans of Sprint’ and the asphalt 1/8th mile is the troposphere where they do battle, on bikes as bananas as those old planes. Very few fulfil that centuries old ethos like Belgium’s Bernard Mont and in 2018 he’s returned with a lay down and mash the gas, hub-centre steer Ducati. It’s known as Nowhere Faster.

In all the history of the Ducati Monster, nothing like this had ever been seen: which ensured the previous record (established in 2008 by the enthusiasts of the Monster Owners Belgium Club, with 405 bikes) was soundly beaten.

Ducati joins Stevie Bonsey and Lloyd Brothers Racing in the American Flat Track Grand National Series 2018

Ducati North America partners with The Dillard Family Racing / Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team to back former Grand Prix motorcycle racer Stevie Bonsey for ten rounds of the American Flat Track (AFT) championship. First race of their season will start with the Atlanta Short Track on Saturday, April 7 in Woodstock, GA at the Dixie Raceway.

Stevie Bonsey, one of the fiercest riders on the AFT circuit mounts his official comeback after a serious crash left the Salinas, CA native with a broken neck in 2016. Bonsey made an appearance at last year’s finale promptly battling up front and finishing just 0.041 seconds off the podium.

The bike is built around Ducati’s twin-cylinder four-valve liquid-cooled Testastretta 11° Monster 821 engine specifically set up for American Flat Track racing by the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team and the support from Ducati and sponsorship from long-standing Ducati collector Jim Dillard.

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports has a history running Ducati-powered machines. History was made together in 2010 by snapping Harley-Davidson’s nearly two-decade winning streak with a victory at the Arizona Mile as a privateer effort. The expanded 2018 program with Bonsey at the controls shows a seriousness of winning intentions by all involved.

“I feel privileged to get a chance to ride of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati for the 2018 season, it’s going to be a challenging season with a class full of so much talent, but I truly believe we have a bike and a team more than capable of going out front.” Says Bonsey

Team co-owner David Lloyd said “We are very happy to have Ducati involved with both our team and the AFT series. Since 2010, we have been racing air-cooled Ducati two-valved engines and have managed a Main event win and podiums; we have now put together two proof–of–concept liquid cooled four-valve engine race bikes that have shown very well the few times on track. With our latest revisions, we are excited and thankful to have sponsorship to be able to race our Ducati Monster 821-powered machine this season with one of the most talented racers, Stevie Bonsey”

“We knew that this combination of Team, Rider and Bike would give the Ducati brand an opportunity to contend with the top in the field in the fastest growing motorcycle sport in the US. We’ve given our Ducati fans a team to cheer on and we’re excited to see progress in action as the season develops”, said Ducati North America CEO, Jason Chinnock.

About Lloyd Brothers Motorsports:Lloyd Brothers Motorsports (LBM) is a professional motorcycle race team, co-owned by David and Michael Lloyd which has been active in professional motorcycle racing for 34 years. Based out of Atlanta, LBM has a long and successful history of European brand podiums. Currently, LBM is the top Ducati development team in American Flat Track. For 2018 LBM is proud and honored to be supported by the following long time sponsors:

JOIN THE NEW DUCATI ISLAND EXPERIENCE AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS

DUCATI INVITES ALL TO JOIN THE NEW DUCATI ISLAND EXPERIENCE AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS FROM APRIL 20-22 ~

Three-Day Ducati Ticket Packages Go on Sale Today with a New Location and Exclusive Activities

Ducati enthusiasts and fans alike from all over the world will congregate at Ducati Island, the place to be during Austin’s MotoGP weekend. As part of race day programming, Ducati Island will offer the ultimate Ducati experience, featuring the 2018 Ducati lineup at COTA’s famed Velocity lounge, test rides, Scrambler Road Trip tour bus, team appearances, meet and greet opportunities with executives, and more. A new location for Ducati Island has been established to amplify race day thrills with new activities for attendees. Three-day Ducati Ticket Packages go on sale today and can be purchased here (http://circuitoftheamericas.com/motogp/tickets/ducati-island ).

Premium accommodations and seating are just the start of the exciting Ducati Ticket Package, which also includes a Ducati-Only Parking pass, VIP pit lane walk, Ducati gift voucher and, new for 2018, Ducati-Only Track Lap, karting ticket and access to the Velocity Lounge VIP area. Come test ride the Scrambler lineup, meet company executives and rub elbows with team racers, all of which will add to the exhilaration of admission to Ducati Island. Ducati Island ticket packages start at $259 per person, for three-day access.

The new location of Ducati Island near the Main Grandstands will provide the perfect vantage point of the start/finish line during an important year for the Ducati team, as MotoGP team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo are poised to pilot their Desmosedici GP motorcycles to victory.

The MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas takes place from April 20-22 at Circuit of the Americas. It will be the third race of the MotoGP season and is the only North American stop of the 2018 race schedule.

Goodbye Rino Caracchi - the C in NCR

The garage of Rino Caracchi is empty today. Looking thru the photos I have taken there over the years it’s possible to tell which of the many visits it was by the bike on the work bench, but really, not much else ever changed. The always on TV in the ceiling, the well-organized parts and tools, bicycles hung from the ceiling on pulleys, Bologna sunlight filtering in thru the high window, and of course Rino, quietly working away. This was the workshop of a master tuner.

Rino Caracchi was a world class mechanic, who with his friends Giorgio Nepoti and Franco Farne, for over 30 years influenced Ducati racing history. Ducati didn’t compete officially in racing in the 1970’s so they entrusted the program to the NCR race shop, just 10 minutes away. When Paul Smart won at Imola in 1972, Rino, Giorgio and Franco were there. Mike Hailwood at the Isle of Man, they were there. They believed that everything could always be lighter, faster, better. And they always seemed to find a way to do it. First race use of the quick-change wheel? Team NCR.

NCR was the satellite team that often was the only team. The partnership between Ducati and NCR was an important part of the company that Ducati is today - a company that builds bikes better because it races.

Of the three men, Rino was the last one still at his work bench. Yesterday, the light turned off for good in Rino’s garage. Team NCR is back together again. Heaven just got itself a hell of a tuner….

Through Art of the Italian Two Wheel, the multifaceted magnate shares his passion for bikes with the public.

Motorcycle masterworks will be given their due when the Miami Design District displays an assortment of collector Stuart Parr’s personal pantheon in the Art of the Italian Two Wheel. The exhibition, at 180 NE 40th Street, runs from February 16 through April 22 and comprises some of the best bikes built in il bel paese. A total of 35 examples—most born in the 1960s and ‘70s—will represent renowned brands that include Ducati, MV Agusta, and Laverda.

Vicki Smith for Ducati.net's insight:

If you are in or near Miami this wonderful exhibit is open and free to attend until April 22nd.

Esoteric arguments about a custom bike’s relative merits are all good and well, but as we all know it always comes down to the same old fact that there’s no accounting for taste. I like red. You like blue. The rest is mere conjecture. But all bets are off when you own a bike signed by Jorg

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